Bowling pin clearing device



HQ E. HUTZELMAN 2,583,103

BOWLING PIN CLEARING DEVICE Jan. 22, 1952 Filed May '7, 1947 5 Sheets-Sheet l FIG. f

g'/ INVENTOR.

M9@ Q5-m Jan. 22, 1952 H HUTZELMAN 2,583,103

BOWLING PIN CIIEARING DEVICE Filed May '7, 1947 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 AJalll- 22, 1952 n H. E. HuTzELMAN 2,583,103

BOWLING PIN CLEARING DEVICE Filed May '7, 1947 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTOR.

Patented Jan. 22, 1952 UNITED STATES PATENT vOFFICE BOWLING PIN CLEARING DEVICE Howard E. Hutzelman, Wilmington,- Del.

Application May 7, 1947, Serial No. 746,429

11 Claims.

1 This invention relates to mechanism for the removal of bowling pins from the bowling alley and/or gutters. More particularly, this invention relates to mechanism for the removal of fallen pins from the bowling alley and/or gut- 'ters without altering the positions of any pins which remain standing. y

Bowling has become increasingly popular as a recreational activity, and the number of alleys and establishments for bowling has increased accordingly. Originally, all the work of setting pins, removing fallen pins, and returning the ball to the bowler was performed manually by "pinboys'. In order to increase eiiiciency and to speed up the game, mechanical devices were produced which aided the pin-boy by accurately placing the pins in proper position. Recently, the trend has been to utilizeA mechanical devices to replace the "pin-boy" entirely, and in line with that trend, devices have been produced which automatically clear the bowling alleys, set pins, and return the ball to the bowler. However, the prior devices have not been completely successful in eliminating the pin-boy" because it frequently occurs that several pins remain standing, either in their original position, or in a slightly altered position, while fallen pins still remain on the alley-bed or in the gutters. When this occurs after only the lrst ball has been thrown, the fallen pins must be removed without altering the position of the standing pins before the second ball may be thrown. There have been several proposed devices known to the use of iiexible sweeps, and mechanisms designed to locate and pick up the. standing pins while the alley is cleared, the pins then being replaced on the alley. None of the above-mentioned devices have been widely adopted, because they either failed to remove the fallen pins in a satisfactory manner while leaving the remaining pins standing in the positions taken after the first ball had been thrown, or the mechanisms for satisfactorily performing the above function were too complicated for a practical commercial unit.

The object of this invention is a mechanism capable of removing fallen pins from the alleybed and the gutters without disturbing the standing pins. Another object is such a mechanism which is simple in construction, reliable, and easy to maintain. A further object is such a mechanism capable of automatic action in combination with conventional pin-setting and ball returndevices. Further objects will become apparent as the invention is described in detail hereinafter.

The above objects are achieved by the use of a novel plow and hold-down mechanism. This mechanism is capable of use with well-known types of pin-setting devices, and with well-known ball return devices, but such devices do not con stitute any part of this invention.

One embodiment of the invention is shown in the drawings accompanying this description. in the drawings:

Figure 1 is a plan view of the pin clearing device taken on line I-l of Figure 2;

Figure 2 is a side elevation taken on line 22 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a sectional view through a portion of the hydraulic cylinder and piston, the piston rod connection to the plow, and the disabling control bar;

Figure 4 is a sectional view through the piston;

Figure 5 is a perspective view of the mecha nism, some parts being deleted, and other parts fragmented for greater drawing clearness;

Figure 6 is a side elevation of a typical alley plow showing a mechanical individual control drive and disabling arrangement, taken on line 6-6 of Figure 7; v

Figure 7 is a sectional view of ve adjacent alley plows taken on line 1l of Figure 6.

Referring in greater detail to the drawings, the carrier frame is formed by two similar structural elements I0 separated by spacers 22 and held in rigid assembly by spacer bolts 45.v To the upper element are fastened the four shaft support bearings 25, the rear two supporting shaft 21, and the forward two supporting shaftll. Four support links 26 are connected pivotally to the fixed bearings 43 and the two shafts, two links going to each shaft. Plow roller tracks 23 are secured in proper position between the structural elements Ill and guide the six alley plows I I and theY two gutter sweeps I2 by means of the eight V-rollers 2l fastened to each of the plows and sweeps by means of studs 24. Fastened rigidly to the upper structural element I0 above the' alley plows II are six hydraulic cylinders I3, and similarly fastened above the gutter sweeps are two hydraulic cylinders I4. Each of the alley plows isv equipped with an ejector brush 2U on either side, this brushbeing made of stiff bristles or other suitable resilient material. The alley plows areconnected by a collar 44 to tubular piston rods I5 while the gutter sweeps are connected to solid piston rods l5.v Extending beyond t the forward edge of the alleyv plows are the con-` trol rods I9 with a cross bar I8 and a compression spring I1. The rods are inserted in the tubular piston rods I5 so that when the spring I1 is fully extended, the rod I9 does not touch steel ball 48 in piston 4e. Leakage between rod I9 and tubular rod I5 is prevented by retainer rings 49 and packing 5I. The piston 46 also contains packing 41.

The two carrier arms 29 are pivotally mounted on shaft 21 and are rigidly fastened to base plate 30. A hold-down pad 3l (sponge rubber or other resilient material) is fastened to the underside of plate 30. On the top of plate 3B is mounted the shaft block 40 which carries'thev trunnion shaft 38. A flanged roller 39 is mounted at each end of shaft 38. Guide tracks 32 are rigidly mounted on the two kick-backs K. The two locking yokes 33 are pivotally mounted on studs 42 and rigidly connectedtogether by a shaft 4I. It should be noted that studs 42 are supported by brackets 52 on kick-backs K, and that the two locking yokes 33 constitute the operating yoke mentioned below. A hydraulic cylinder 35 is pivotally fastened to support 36 by means of a stud 31 and is connected to the shaft 4I by the piston rod 34. The entireassembly is counterbalanced by means of weighted counterbalance cables 28.

The hydraulic fluid lines and source of power are not shown in order to preserve clarity of illustration, as they are conventional and well-known.

The letter symbols all refer to conventional bowling alley equipment, and have a meaning as follows: A-alley-bed; G-gutter; P-bowling pin; M-automatic pin-setting mechanism; L- alley light; C-'-alley curtain; and K-gutter kick-back. l

The operation of the mechanism is as follows:

The entire pin clearing device is held in the retracted position indicated by the dashed lines in Figure'2 whenever it is not engaged in clearing the alley. Upon actuation, either by means of a bowler-controlled switch or a switch controlled automatically, for instance, by the weight of the ball in the pit, the entire assembly swings downward and forward. Carrier arms 29 are supported by shaft 50 until the iianged rollers 39 enter upon the guide tracks 32, at which time the downward motion of the pin locking device is halted. As the pin clearing device continues descending, carrier arms 29 pivot on shaft 21, and the pin locking device moves forward until the flanged rollers enter the operating yoke, the yoke then being held open and the piston rod 34 fully retracted. 'I'he haltinggof the pin locking device also halts the'forward motion of the clearing device. At this point, the pin holding device is directly above the pins, but doesnot touch them. Pressure is then applied to the top of cylinder 35, causing the operating yoke to move the pin lockmg mechanism downward, thereby engaging the tops of the standing pins, firmly clamping them in position. Since the flanged rollers are now locked in an immovableposition, being held by the operating yoke 33, the pin locking mechanism is held stationary, and carrier arms 29v prevent any motion of the carrier frame.

Pressure is now applied to the eight hydraulic cylinders I3 and' I4 individually, in any predetermined order, so as to cause the pin clearing plows and the gutter sweeps to move forward in.' Isuch selected order,` removing fallen pins from the alley-bed and gutters to the pit. The pm clearing plows are positioned to pass by any standing pin in its normal position. One pre;

ferred sequence of advancement of the plows and sweeps is shown in Figure 5. The positive force of the plows in combination with the ejector brushes will effectively clear the fallen pins from the alley, even though some standing pins directly prevent movement of some of the plows towards the pit.

When all the plows and sweeps have reached the end of their stroke, the pressure on the cylinders I3 and I4 is reversed, and the plows and sweeps return to the original position in the carrier frame. The pressure is reversed in hydraulic cylinder 35, lifting the operating yoke 33 and thereby lifting the pad off the pins. The entire assembly is then retracted to the out-of-the-way position.

In the event one of the standing pins was moved out of its usual position into the path of a plow, that individual plow would be disabled from further movement. 'I'he sequence would be as follows: The cross bar I8 carried by the control rod I9 would engage the upper portion of the interfering pin before the plow surface would contact the lower portion of the pin. With continued forward motion of the tubular piston rod I5. the now stationary control rod I9 would force the steel ball 48 away from its seat in piston 46, thereby breaking the seal and allowing the hydraulic uid to pass through the piston. The forward motion of the piston would cease, and the plow would be stationary. With reversal of the pressure, the ball would seat on the opposite end of the piston, and upon retracting motion, spring `I1 would restore control rod I9 to its usual position.

To remove all the pins before resetting the alley, the operation would be the same, except that the operating yoke would not be lowered sufficiently to cause the pin locking mechanism to engage the standing pins. This could be regulated by regulating the length of the stroke of piston rod 34 or by providing engaging stops for the operating yoke.

The mechanism in the retracted position afd fords a clear view of the pins to the bowler, and is completely out-of-the-way of the ping setting mechanism. As is shown in Figure 2, it does not interfere with the conventional elements of the alley.

'I'he means of actuating and controlling the mechanism depends entirely upon the preference of the establishment. If it is desired to make the operation automatic and independent of the wishes of the bowler, switching means actuated by the Weight of the bowling ball in the pit mayI be used. Otherwise, a simple push-button op# eration panel can be provided at the scoring stand'l or similar location. The latter method would have the advantage of eliminating movement of the device when such movement is unnecessary, such as when no fallen pins remain on the alley after the rst ball has been thrown, or when all of the pins have been knocked into the pit,

It will be obvious that many alterations may be made without departing from the basic invention herein described.

Figures 6 and '7 show a mechanical means` for obtaining exactly the same drive, control, and disabling of the alley plows and gutter sweeps as has been described for the hydraulic cylinder arrangement.

Referring to Figures 6 and 7, the alley plows 80,. V-rollers 6I, roller tracks 15, and spacers 16, are almost identical with those parts described earlier. numbered Il,` 2l, 23, and 22, respective ly. The upper partei' eachiof the" alley plows' 60 is arranged to accommodate.themechanicaly control bar 62 and control rocl63 in three slide bearings. Y Drive latch B9 is connected plvotally to the alley plow 60 on stud 18. Return lug 'il is a part -of plow dil. -Support brackets 11- are mounted on the roller track frame composed' of roller` tracks 'i5 and spacers 'l,'and support shafts for sprockets 53,' 54, 55, 56, 5l, and 58, upon which' the continuous roller chains 12 operate. The complete plow unit,'only a part of. which is shown, contains six alley plows and two gutter sweepers. as described vin the -iirst part.- The drive chains 12 foreach plow or sweeper. are exactly the same length,'but the heightsl of the centers of sprockets 5T and 53 -for'eaoh 4chain are varied in order to obtainthe required spacing arrangement for the plows' as illustratedl in Figure 5. rIhe entire eight chains are driven simul`- taneously through drive shaft le," from main drive chain 'I3k and sprocket 59. The motor and sprocket to drive chain i3 would bemounted on a stationary support directly above shaft "i4, at a height corresponding to the `position of xed bearings 33 on Figure 2, and rarefnot shown on the drawings.` Restoring studs 56 are attached to track spacers 'lli at the position relative to drive latch 69 when the plows are fully retracted, as shown in Figure 6. Drive studs l0 are attached to each of the eight chains l2. *Alocking stud Si, stop collar B8, and return collar 55 are attaches to each control rod 63. A

The operation of this mechanism is as follows; After the framework has been lowered and the standing pins clamped to the alley-bed by the s' mechanisms previously described, a suitable switch would be actuated to start the motor and sprocket for chain 13, initiating the alley plow and gutter sweeper cycle. The chains 12 are driven in the direction such that the under portion of the chain moves forwardly, and the drive studs 70 are so located that the drive latch 69 for the center plow will first be engaged. Rotation of the drive latch 69 is prevented by the locklng stud 61 in control rod 63, so the plow 60 is driven forward. At a fixed interval after the start of movement of the center plow, studs 'Hl in drive chains 12 for the respective plows adjacent to the center one engage their respective drive latches 69 and start movement of the next two plows. In a like manner, all of the plows and gutter sweepers are driven forward. However, when the forward position for any plow is reached, stud 1li passes upward around sprocket 56, disengaging from the plow. The varying heights of sprockets 58 are such that all drive studs lil will reach a position at the bottom of sprockets 55 at exactly the same time. In this position, they will engage return lugs 1I and return all plows at the same time, to a point where the drive studs 'lil disengage from return lugs 'H at sprockets 54. This position of the drive studs 'It is the end of a cycle of a xed number of motor revolutions determined by a suitable automatic cut-oii switch. It can be seen that, since all chains'iZ are the same length, when the next cycle starts, there will be intervals between the times the respective drive studs 'in pass through the different distances between their respective points of disengagement from lugs 'il and their respective points of engagement with drive latches 69.

.When a standing pin interferes with the motion of an alley plow 6B, the upper portion of that standing pin will arrest the motion of con.

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trol bar 82 thereby moving locking-stud' Blf-out of drive latch 69, allowing the latch to pivot about stud 18, therebydlsengagingithe plow from the driving stud 1B, and stopping its movement. The return lug 'il will .be picked up" by .stud lli on its return stroke, and as the plow is .brought to its rear position, the released latch Se'isfengaged by the restoring stud 66, which' pivotsthe drive latch back to its latched position.Y

The same chain drive method is used for the two gutter sweepers (not shown), but these sweepers carry no control bar, so a` lugsimilar to H would replace the drive latch arrangement for these sweepers.

I intend to be limitedv only by the" following claims: 'l

I claim:

l. In a pin' clearlng'mechanism "for the removal of unwanted pins from a bowling alley, the combination of a hold-down pad,a retractable carrier having a series o f guide tracks, rigid alley clearing plows 'and-gutter clearing sweeps guided by said tracks,-V an'd means of advancing and 'retractingeach' of said plows and sweeps at predetermined intervals andmeans for 'activating said plows concurrently with the disposition oi said hold-down lpad ,in a position to'iix stand-4 ing pins, whereby said plows ,mayY be moved ior`- ward to remove fallen pins'l whilethe'standing pins are held uprightI by said hold-down pad, said plows being moved simultaneously and said carrier being retractable for the purpose of removal to an'out-of-the-way position toL permit operation of the alley in bowling.,

2. In a pin clearing mechanism forthe removal of unwanted pins from a bowling alley, the combination of a, hold-down pad, a retractable carrier having a series of parallel guide tracks, rigid alley clearing plows and gutter clearing sweeps f positioned on said guide tracks, means of advancing and retracting each of said plows and sweeps as a group over the portions of the alley between the forward pin and the pit at predetermined intervals, and means of automatically disabling any plow whose path is occupied by a standing pin and means for activating said plows concurrently with the disposition of said hold-down pad in a position to x standing pins, whereby said plows may be moved forward to remove fallen pins while the standing pins are held upright by said hold-down pad.

3. In a pin clearing mechanism for the removal of unwanted pins from a bowling alley, the combination of a hold-down pad, guide tracks and operating yokes to position and lock said holddown pad, a cooperating retractable carrier containing a series of parallel guide tracks, alley clearing plows and gutter clearing sweeps positioned on said guide tracks, means of advancing and retracting each of said plows and sweeps at predetermined intervals, and means of disabling any plow whose path is occupied by a standing, hold-down pad engaged pin, from further advancing motion and means for activating said plows concurrently with the disposition of said hold-down pad in a position to fix standing pins. whereby said plows may be moved forward to remove fallen pins while the standing pins are held upright by said hold-down pad.

4. The mechanism as claimed in claim 3, wherein the means of advancing and retracting the plows and sweeps .comprises hydraulic cylinders, pistons, and piston rods connected to the said plows and sweeps.

5. The mechanism as claimed in claim 3,

7 wherein the plows carryy brushes material.

6. The mechanism as claimed in claim 3. wherein the means of disabling a plow whose path is occupied by a standing pin comprises an extending rod in a tubular piston rod, said rod being adapted to unseat a ball-valve in the piston when depressed relative to the piston rod.

'1. In a, pin clearing mechanism for the removal of unwanted pins from a bowling alley, the combination of a hold-down pad, a retractable carrier, rigid alley clearing plows and means for advancing and retracting each of said plows at predetermined intervals including an individual drive chain for each plow.

8. The mechanism of claim '7, wherein each plow is provided with disabling means.

9. The mechanism o! claim 8, wherein the disabling means includes a. control bar, a locking stud, a drive latch, and a driving stud, whereby arresting of the control bar will move said locking stud out of said drive latch to disengage the plow from said driving stud.

10. In a pin clearing mechanism for the removal of unwanted pins from a bowling alley, the combination of a hold-down pad for fixing standing pins, a plurality of rigid plows for removing fallen pins, disabling means mounted on each plow for disabling said plow upon contact with a standing pin and means for activating said plows concurrently with lthe disposition of said hold-down pad in a position to x standing pins, whereby said plows may be moved forward to remove fallen pins while the ,standing pins are held upright by said hold-down vpad, said disof resilient abling 'means including a tubular piston rod and a piston, an extending rod in said piston rod. said extending rod being adapted to unseat a ball valve in said piston when depressed relative-to the piston rod, said rods cooperating with said plurality of plows to disable any one of said plows upon contact with a standing pin.

11. In a pin clearing mechanism for the removal of unwanted pins from a bowling alley, the combination of means for fixing standing pins. a plurality of rigid means for removing fallen pins, an individual disabling means for halting each of said rigid means upon contact with a fixed standing pin, means for activating said removing means with the disposition of said fixing means in a position to x standing pins, whereby said removing means may be moved forward to remove fallen pins whilev the standing pins are held upright by said fixing means, and means for advancing said plurality of rigid removing means on an uneven horizontal front whereby fixing of fallen pins against standing pins is avoided by contacting fallen pins on the alley by one or more of said removing means on said uneven horizontal front.

HOWARD E. HUIZELMAN.

REFERENCES CITED UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Patterson Apr. 13, 1943 Number 

